Hell was let loose yesterday at Aramoko-Ekiti as hundreds of youths and members of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) protested the killing of a commercial driver near police check-points by suspected armed robbers.

Angered that a robbery operation could take place between two checkpoints, the protesters attacked and wounded the Aramoko Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Anthony Okpalaeke, who went to the robbery scene with some of him men.

And when the situation almost became uncontrollable, the policemen took to their heels and escaped being mobbed.
The police station was also vandalized by the drivers who accused the policemen of negligence.

The deceased, identified as Toyin Kajilo was driving an 18-seater bus belonging to Lafe Ade Transport Services was heading to Lagos from Ado Ekiti, the state capital, before it was intercepted by the robbers at about 7.45 am.

One of the victims said while the operation lasted for 45 minutes, there was no policeman on sight despite the fact that the scene of the robbery was less than a kilometer to the checkpoint.

Motorists were forced to park and abandon their vehicles with many of them hiding in the bush.

One of the passengers in the bus, Abayomi Aderiye, revealed that the robbery occurred shortly after the slain driver had given money to the policemen at one of the checkpoints.

Aderiye said: “Police stopped us on getting to the corner, he (the late driver) dropped the money and he was complaining about the location of the checkpoint at a very sharp bend.

“As he moved forward thereafter, the next thing we saw was some men in masks. They blocked the road, we thought they were policemen but before we could know that they were armed robbers, they shot severally and killed the driver. All the passengers escaped into the bush”.

Asked why it was only the driver the armed robbers killed, he said, “That will be difficult to answer because it was just too sudden, everybody ran for his or her dear lives. As at now we still found it difficult to know what they stole in the bus”.

The traditional ruler of the town, Alara of Aramoko, Oba Adegoke Adeyemi condemned the robbery incident accusing the police of negligence. He called on security agencies to be more alive to their responsibilities and prevent a reoccurrence in his domain.
Rattled by the widespread suspicion that the matter was more of an assassination than robbery, the State government hurriedly summoned a security meeting, chaired by the Deputy Governor, Dr Kolapo Olusola.

The meeting was attended by the Commissioner of Police, Mr Etop James, Director of Department of State Services (DSS), Mr Duke Fubara, other security heads and the driver unions.

Recounting how the robbery took place at the meeting, the NURTW Chairman in Ekiti, Mr Adekola Clement, revealed that the driver had
just driven a few metres away from a police checkpoint  when robbers were said to have emerged from both sides of the road and rained
bullets on the vehicle.

The Commissioner of Police, however, assured that investigations into the matter has commenced in earnest, assuring that  no efforts will be spared to ensure that the security of the state, particularly places identified as flashpoints would is fortified.